Contents

Synopsis

On the way to Azalea Town, Ash and co. encounter a flock of Mareep, a shepherd named Ellen and her daughter Mary. They use a Raichu like a sheepdog rounding up the Mareep. Later that night Mary says that she wants to compete with Fluffy (her Mareep) in a local festival but her mother says she is too young. Will her dream be crushed forever?

Episode Plot

The heroes have lunch in the mountains. Ash eats a sandwich and chokes. Misty quickly gives him water, but does not work, so Pikachu uses Thunderbolt to scare them away, so Ash gulps down the sandwich. After that, they encounter a Mareep, who charges at them. Mareep goes on Pikachu, who uses Thunderbolt. Interestingly, Mareep likes to be electrocuted, as its wool gets bigger. Suddenly, more Mareep come and go after Pikachu, whose electricity makes their wool bigger. A girl comes, scolding her Mareep as they shouldn't do that. Mareep disobey her, so a woman appears, whose Raichu uses Thunderbolt to enhance them with electricity. The woman lines them up, making the heroes amazed by them.

The woman tells the girl, Mary, to go home. At the home, the woman apologizes for the trouble, but Ash knows they it was no trouble. Brock wishes the woman was ten years younger. Mary tells that she hadn't gotten an eye on Mareep in a second and they ran away. The woman asks her if she daydreamed about Pokémon battles, so she confirms she did. The woman warns her she needs to focus, despite the Festival going next week. The woman tells the heroes Mareep are praised for giving electricity, so Misty sees the Festival is in their honor. The judges determine much, including battles. Ash wishes to enter, but the woman warns him only the inhabitants of the valley can enter. Ash wishes he could before the battle at Azalea Gym. Ash shows his first badge, making Mary wanting battles. Mary asks her mother if she can entee the contest with battles, but her mother forbids her, since she is not young and cannot handle her Mareep yet.

Hearing them both, Brock offers his and his friends' humble assistance. Ash and Misty are surprised, but the woman accepts their help. So, Pikachu and Raichu have the Mareep lined up, while Brock and Mary's mother measure the voltage of Mareep, then Ash, Misty and Mary brush Mareep. James counts the Mareep and falls asleep. Jessie has plans about getting their wool and sell it. James remembers that he had a lot of clothing made of Mareep wool, as his classmates beat him every day for that. He realizes Jessie and Meowth did not have that, so goes to get the wool with them. Ash sees Mary's Mareep, Flaffy, shooting a target using Thundershock. Ash is impressed by it, while Mary tells she raised it ever since it was a child. Ash tells she should be proud with it. Mary asks of Ash to battle her Mareep using Pikachu, since she never had a battle. Since Ash and Pikachu agree, the battle starts.

Flaffy goes to tackle, but Pikachu dodges. Since Flaffy missed with Headbutt, it growls, affecting Pikachu. Flaffy continues with Swift, hitting Pikachu, then collides with him using Thundershock. Pikachu fails, so dodges Flaffy's Thundershock. Flaffy goes to use more power, but falls down. Ash sees it used all its power, so tells Mary it should rest. Mary asks Ash why'd he stop Pikachu from using Thundershock, so Ash tells Pikachu was exhausted from chasing Mareep before the battle. Mary admits she only thought of winning the battle and forgot about Flaffy. She apologizes to Flaffy, so Ash tells that though battles are important, they should think of Pokémon as well, since they think of their trainers. Mary sees Ash knows everything, but he denies, as he also makes mistakes.

At the dinner, the gang compliments Mary's mother's cooking, though she tells them they need to eat, not watch. She goes up and sees Mary is gone. She listens to Mary at the roof, who admits she is not ready for the battles at the Festival. A storm approaches, so Mary's mother wakes the heroes up, as she needs their assistance. She tells them the Mareep could use some electricity to make their wool look bigger, absorbing the electricity. Leaving the Mareep at the edge of the cliff, they take cover and witness as Mareep get their wool bigger by a hit of a lightning. As they look at the Mareep, Team Rocket capture the Mareep, throwing the net at them, then use the robot arm to throw Pikachu in a cage. Raichu uses Thunderbolt, but gets absorbed by a panel. Raichu uses more power and blows the panel up. The balloon gets engulfed in fire, as Pikachu and Mareep escape the balloon, though Raichu is worn out.

Jessie sends Arbok and James Weezing. Mareep growl out, then use Thundershock, but Meowth uses a panel to absorb the energy. Ash goes to open Pikachu's cage, but fails. Flaffy comes and Mary tells her mom to let the other Mareep use Thundershock on Flaffy. Flaffy absorbs electricity and fires on Team Rocket, then Ash frees Pikachu, who blasts them off, while Arbok and Weezing follow them. Next day, Mary's mom gives Mary a Pokémon for the festival. The heroes watch as Mary sends Flaffy in the battle at the Festival.